Glens Falls Business Journal

ARCC Workplace Health & Wellness Council To Host ‘Reclaim Your Brain’ Seminar

May 17, 2022

Sue McManus, program director, Employee Assistance Program of the Adirondacks.

The Workplace Health & Wellness Council of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) will presents an event dedicated to the mental health and wellness in the workplace.

The session is scheduled for 7:30-9 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Queensbury Hotel, 88 Ridge St., Glens Falls.

The speakers will be Sue McManus, program director with the Employee Assistance Program of the Adirondacks. She is a licensed registered mental nurse (RMN), and is also a qualified substance abuse professional. She has had a 38-year career in mental health and addiction services both overseas and in the United States.

The topic is “Reclaim Your Brain,” addressing the collective trauma of the past few years in dealing with the COVID pandemic—what it means for individuals, employees, community members and business owners. Sue McManus received her RMN license from the Broadland School of Nursing, Norwich England, her bachelor’s in clinical and counseling psychology from San Jose State University, California, and her master’s in social work (MSW) from SUNY Albany.

Health Group Certifies Glens Falls Hospital For Efficient, Consistent Care Procedures

May 17, 2022

Glens Falls Hospital has been awarded full certification to the ISO 9001, a widely-accepted quality management system of DNV Healthcare USA Inc.

“Glens Falls Hospital is dedicated to providing the safest and most effective healthcare services possible,” said Paul Scimeca, interim president and CEO of Glens Falls Hospital. “ISO 9001 certification not only reflects that mission but helps to empower it. The certificate is just a piece of paper, but the effort required to achieve it fundamentally transforms the way we do business. ISO 9001 is ideally suited to the complex, people-intensive challenges of running a hospital.”

“Glens Falls Hospital has worked hard to achieve this certification, and they have done so with unwavering commitment from their top leadership to make their hospital the best it can be,” says Patrick Horine, president of DNV Healthcare USA Inc. “ISO 9001 certification isn’t just an award or trophy for something you’ve done. It is public evidence that you are at the top of your game with an obvious plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective.”

SUNY Empire State Gets Grant To Help Boost Enrollment In Its Nursing Program

May 17, 2022

SUNY Empire State College will enhance nursing program to address the state and nation’s critical nursing shortage

The college has received a $245,580 grant from the SUNY system that is expected to boost enrollment in the college’s nursing program and help address the state and nation’s critical nursing shortage, officials said.

The funds are part of a $3 million SUNY Nursing Emergency Training Fund designed to enable more students to enroll in SUNY’s nursing programs. SUNY Empire will use the money to offset the initial cost of hiring a full-time faculty member and an operations coordinator in its nursing program.

The funding, which will be available July 1 after the state budget is approved, will enable the college to increase enrollment at the School of Nursing and Allied Health by 100 students.

In all, SUNY campuses have more than 70 accredited nursing programs. SUNY campuses were eligible to apply for funding of up to $250,000. The funding can be used in various ways, including curricula development, partnership expansion, and the purchase of instructional equipment and technology.

28 Arts Organizations In the Region Get Grant Funding For 2022 From LARAC

May 17, 2022

The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC) announced the recipients of its community arts grant program for 2022.

Local artists and organizations will receive $90,781 for arts programming taking place throughout Warren and Washington counties. The grant opportunity is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the state Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the State Legislature and administered by LARAC.

The Community Arts Grant is a re-grant program that provides financial and technical assistance for community-based arts activities.

The goal of the Statewide Community Regrant program is to provide quality arts programming to all of Warren and Washington counties; assist emerging arts organizations; support the artistic expression of Warren/Washington’s diversity; and make arts programming accessible to under-served audiences.

Six individual artists will receive $2,500 each to produce a new work. Rachael Maneely of Queensbury will receive grant funds to create a new body of work called “Lightning Storms in the Adirondacks.” Valentina Sergeera of Hudson Falls will get funds o capture the motions of dance through her body of work called “Dancers in Flight,” and Warren Schultz of Greenwich will be producing a play based at the historic Ulysses S. Grant Cottage on Mount McGregor called “Grant’s Ghost.”

Office Of Strategic Workforce Development Created To Help Meet Needs Of Employers

May 17, 2022

A state Office of Strategic Workforce Development has been created that is charged with improving the programs and practices to better align with the needs and priorities of today’s employers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed the new office in her State of the State address earlier this year and committed funding that was approved in the state budget.

The $350 million investment in state funding will support wide-reaching, historic and coordinated investment in workforce development across state agencies and authorities and includes $150 million in multi-year funding for new grant programs that will primarily support employer-driven, high skilled workforce training programs.

“New Yorkers are still struggling to find work and opportunity due to the economic disruption of the pandemic,” Hochul said. “This issue is personal to me. I’ve seen steel plants close leaving workers with nowhere to go. With our brand new Office of Strategic Workforce Development, we are doubling down on our commitment to help train and connect New Yorkers with the good-paying jobs of the future.”

Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President and CEO-designate Hope Knight said the new office will optimize ESD’s relationships with the state’s industries and employers “to generate new opportunities for New Yorkers and encourage regional economic growth. Together with our State University system and our agency partners, we can provide businesses with a talent pipeline to catalyze new investments throughout the state.”

The Office of Strategic Workforce Development will function under Empire State Development (ESD), marking a change in workforce development policy to one that is laser-focused on supporting the labor needs of the state’s highest-growth sectors while producing new economic opportunity for un/underemployed and underrepresented workers. ESD will manage the Office in close coordination with agency partners, including the Department of Labor, the SUNY system, and the City University of New York, among others, with a track record of delivering successful workforce training programs.

Dockside Landing Marina Sold To Group That Includes The Current Management Team

April 18, 2022

Dockside Landing Marina offers boat rentals, boat service and repairs, a small retail store, a luxury condo rental above the store, and a boat storage facility just north of the marina.
Courtesy Dockside Landing Marina

Dockside Landing Marina, Hague, NY is changing hands, having been purchased by a private ownership group led by Phillip K. Whittemore, now retired from Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli CPAs.

Management will remain the same and the management team will become part owners, according to the terms of the sale.

The business, located on the northern end of Lake George, on lake Shore Drive, Hague, offers seasonal boat rentals, boat service and repairs, a small retail store, a luxury condo rental above the store, and a boat storage facility just north of the marina.

The purchase price is being held confidential.

According to the ownership terms, the property and management will remain the same under the current leadership of Scott Olson, Rich Stolen, and Stephanie Kemenczy. Olson and Stolen will now own 25 percent of the business.

The incoming, new ownership group comprised of hospitality veterans Paul Bricoccoli Jr., Scott Endieveri, and Jason and David Krogmann (The Bullpen Tavern, Talk of the Town, and formerly, The Horseshoe Inn) will now own 75 percent of the business.

“This opportunity came about after some casual discussions with our accountant,” Phil Whittemore, said Bricoccoli. “We’ve always tried to put money back into our businesses and sock some away for anything that might come up. As we started looking at this opportunity a bit closer, the timing felt right and it made good business sense.”

Great Escape Foresees Strong Season, Opens In May With COVID Protocols Discontinued

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

Crews prepare for the opening of Great Escape, a key to the tourism sector that accounts for up to 40 percent of Warren County’s total economic output, according to EDC Warren County.
Paul Post

By Paul Post

Great Escape is gearing up for a new season of family-oriented fun as it returns to normal with COVID-19 restrictions hopefully a thing of the past.

The Six Flags-owned theme park never opened in 2020 and guests last year had to comply with numerous protocols such as mandatory face coverings, temperature screenings, social distancing and making online reservations prior to visiting.

All these have been eliminated, although one practice—a cashless payment system—has been adopted permanently. All purchases including entry tickets, concessions and souvenirs must be made with credit or debit cards, or some type of mobile phone platform.

For those who don’t have or forget to bring these, Great Escape has installed cash-to-card kiosks where people can turn cash into a prepaid VISA debit card. The cards can be used anywhere, just like a regular debit card, so people can spend what remains if there’s money left over after visiting the park.

“It gives people a third option if they don’t have a phone, or credit or debt card,” said Jason Lee, public relations and marketing supervisor.

Plans call for a May 21 opening.

Great Escape is one of the biggest engines in a tourism sector that accounts for up to 40 percent of Warren County’s total economic output, said Jim Siplon, EDC Warren County president. “They’re one of the driving forces,” he said.

An estimated one million people visited Great Escape and its adjacent year-round Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark in 2019.

CEG: Warren And Washington Counties Gained Population During The Pandemic

April 18, 2022

The Capital Region continued to grow through the pandemic, making it one of only two economic development regions in the state to see total population gains between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021.

Even more, the eight-county region had New York’s greatest number of annual net domestic movers during that period, according to a Center for Economic Growth analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

CEG said Warren County ranked 12th for annual net domestic movers, the agency said.

“We are a million-strong region and getting bigger. The Center for Economic Growth launched our CapNY talent attraction campaign in April 2021,” said CEG President and CEO Mark Eagan. “We sensed that if we could raise awareness about all the opportunities and lifestyle in the Capital Region, then more people would want to come here to work and live. We were onto something, and these Census Bureau population estimates show that.

“The GoCapNY.com website is attracting much traffic, especially from the New York City and Boston areas, and we will be launching new initiatives to engage and connect with interns this summer.”

CEG said that between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, the eight-county region’s population grew by 1,212, or 0.1 percent, to 1,106,274. The only other Regional Economic Development Council region to see population growth was the Hudson Valley, which picked up 3,032 people, or .01 percent. The statewide population declined by -1.6 percent. The five-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also saw a 0.1 percent population gain to 918,259.

Baker Presented With Annual Juckett Award At Adirondack Regional Chamber Dinner

April 18, 2022

Thomas Murphy, left, presents the annual Juckett Award to Carl T. Baker.
Andy Camp

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) celebrated the community contributions of attorney Carl T. Baker, of FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth P.C., who received the 33rd Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award on April 1.

Baker was presented the award at the ARCC Annual Dinner at The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing.

“I am truly honored to receive this award,” said Baker. “Since Sandy and I moved here to live, work and raise our family, we have never thought of being anywhere else. The people, the community, the area have always made our lives richer. We are forever grateful to the good fortune that brought us here.”

Thomas Murphy, president of Glens Falls National Bank/Arrow Financial Corp. presented the award.

“I was very proud to nominate Carl Baker for the 33rd Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award, and to be able to present it to him at the ARCC award dinner. Carl makes our community a better place to live and work and he is most deserving of this recognition for his lifetime of community service,” said Murphy.

The ARCC was joined by almost 300 business and community members in celebrating Baker’s accomplishments, as well as reflecting on how far the community has come over the last year.

“Carl Baker exudes all that the J. Walter Juckett award stands for. Carl’s passion, commitment, and leadership in our region is second to none. The ARCC is blessed to bestow this lifetime achievement award to Carl,” said ARCC President Michael Bittel.

Personnel Briefs: April 2022

April 18, 2022

Michael Spaulding of Queensbury has joined the NBT Insurance Agency as vice president of retail-personal insurance.

Spaulding is a member of the NBT Insurance leadership team and will lead the expansion of the Agency’s Retail-Personal Insurance Division. He brings more than 25 years of experience to his new position, including leadership positions in sales, underwriting and operations.

He comes to NBT Insurance from Travelers Insurance Companies where he most recently served as Eastern New York state regional sales director.

The vice president of retail-personal insurance is a new position at the agency, intended to drive growth in our current and expanding footprint, the company said.

Spaulding is part of the expanding team of insurance professionals based at NBT Bank’s Saratoga Springs location.

Currently a board member of Big Brother Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks, Spaulding previously volunteered as a youth sports coach in the Queensbury area.

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Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced that Kathleen Grasmeder, a Managing director, portfolio management director, financial advisor in the firm’s Glens Falls Wealth Management office, has been named to Forbes Magazine’s list of Top Women Wealth Advisors and Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State for 2022, listed on forbes.com.

Forbes’ “Top Women Wealth Advisors” and “Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State” is a select group of individuals who have a minimum of seven years of industry experience. The ranking, developed by Forbes’ partner SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors and weighing factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews.

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